


I Think I'm Falling For You

by thescyfychannel



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Festivals, Harvest Festival, Kingdomstuck, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 16:24:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16245422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescyfychannel/pseuds/thescyfychannel
Summary: The absolute last thing you ever want to do is put your prince in any sort of danger. Even if that includes glaring at the new (and attractive) knight until he shapes up, or inspecting every damn leaf pile in the kingdom for hidden swords. You, Karkat Vantas,are on the case.





	I Think I'm Falling For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LightReef](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightReef/gifts).



> "I need these boys to go on a ridiculously romantic outing. A simple fall date with whacky antics, a fairytale prince x knights celebrating harvest season thing, vamp, werewolf, fairy antics, or maybe they both tried to murder the same dude on halloween, whatever it's sappy and red and lovely I'm into it."

The prince's determination to celebrate every single thing the peasants decided was deserving of even the smallest of holidays was going to send you to an early grave. It wasn't even exaggeration on your part—now that His Highness Eridan Ampora had grown up enough to  _ mostly _ remove his head from his ass, he was insistent on being involved with almost all parts of the running of the kingdom.

You had to face facts: He'd turned into a fucking micromanager.

 

Of course, you were alone in your all-too-accurate concerns. Tavros Nitram, the other knight guard assigned to His Highness, had just left pagehood behind. He had not, as you had, achieved his knighthood at a scant sixteen (and a half) for extraordinary service and also for having started training when you were probably a bit too young to do so. Sure, he was a decent sort.

As long as he wasn't encouraging your stupid prince to be a fucking idiot.

But he  _ was _ , which led you here: the fall harvest festival, that Eridan wasn't even  _ required _ to attend.

Just because your partner on this assignment was slacking didn't mean you had to. While Eridan was still busy studying the business of the realm, you'd scheduled a thorough sweep of the festival grounds, and, for some reason, you'd decided to bring Nitram along. You still had no idea why, but—well, it was probably because his cheerful face and easy grin made people think he was an idiot (which he was, but not in the way he assumed), which meant that people would tell him things that they might not tell you, Karkat Vantas, longtime, hardened knight, known all throughout the Seven Realms to be loyal to the Ampora line.

Fame was really a bitch sometimes.

But by the time you're done with your first circuit, Nitram was still just… _ chatting _ with people, instead of doing something useful, like checking the rooftops for sniper posts or what have you. You gritted your teeth and kept going, making a mental note to ream him out as soon as you were done.

 

* * *

 

When you circled back around, Nitram was  _ finally _ getting to work, examining a suspicious-looking cart. For a moment you consider tabling the lecture.

Then he stands up, dusts his hands off, and a nearby farmer claps him on the back, and you realize that right around where he'd been crouched down, there's a heap of tools. The complete nincompoop had been  _ fixing _ a potentially hostile vehicle instead of checking it for any sorts of weaponry. Lecture rescheduled.

He bounds up to you, but before you can get your mouth open, he's grinning that stupid grin and you pause. "So, uh, Martin—he said Greogrezis are still kind of, well, upset? About the new taxes. Most people, uh, realized, fairly early on, that they were meant to pay for the roads? But the Greogrezis have always been, er. A little behind the curve, in terms of, you know, civic awareness."

You mentally table the lecture again, and realize, based on his nervous fidgeting, that you've been staring at him the whole time. "And you learned this from gossiping."

"Uh. Yes?"

A little exasperated, and maybe a tiny bit proud, you take a deep breath, then let it out. "Fine. Okay. Tell me what else they told you," you say, but his arrested expression makes you stop again. " _ What _ , Nitram?"

"Uh, I, maybe, might have, promised them, that I would help finish with the decorating? It would be a, uh, very good opportunity to find out more about everyone involved…"

 

Which is how you end up helping with the decorations for the fall festival.

Which is why when you run into Eridan Ampora, His Highness, in  _ disguise _ , you can't even flip your shit without giving him away, and by the shit-eating grin he's wearing as he gently lifts the next decorative garland from your hands, he  _ knows _ it.

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Tavros Nitram had wrung the town dry of all of its gossip, you had calmed down enough to be  _ civil _ with everyone involved in this debacle of an inspection, and Eridan was looking altogether far too pleased with himself. He'd brought down a fairly nondescript horse, with a little farm dirt rubbed into its coat, and you had to hand it to him—the kid had only gotten better at sneaking out as time had gone past. If anything, it was proof that you'd trained him very well.

"So," he starts, and you turn to glare at him. "Looks like the Harvest Festival's getting off to a good start then, yeah?"

"Ampora, I swear—"

"You know, it's a little disrespectful not to, uh, refer to him as 'Your Highness', isn't it?" Your head snaps around, and you glare Nitram down—and realize that he's grinning at you.

"So help me, Sir Nitram, if I find out that  _ you _ , of all people, were in on this harebrained scheme—"

"I swear he wasn't, Kar, but he  _ did _ spot me earlier than you did," Eridan says, and you feel a very weird twinge of…something, in the pit of your stomach. "I made him promise not to tell you, and he made me swear that I'd let you know where I was soonest, insisted that I show my face an' all so that you could be aware of what you were dealin' with. He didn't do anythin'."

You don't really like that Eridan's defending Tavros. You don't really like that you completely dropped the ball on protecting your prince. You don't really like the idea that the two of them might have secrets that don't involve you.

But there's really nothing you can do other than nod your agreement. "Well spotted, then, Nitram. Your Highness, you did a  _ much _ better job of hiding your identity and covering your tracks this time—don't expect to get away with it again."

"Sure, sure," he says, still grinning. "I won't."

You know that he does, but for now, you won't say anything else about it.

 

* * *

 

 

The first day of the Harvest Festival dawns bright and clear, and you find yourself tugging on the formalized version of your uniform, at Eridan's behest. You almost hate that you can't refuse him anything, but you know that even if you tried it wouldn't be very long before he talked you around.

When Nitram walks into Eridan's waiting room, you're treated to an unexpectedly decent view. He cleans up well, all broad muscle in the shoulder, and you're suddenly confronted with the realization that your counterpart is, well. Attractive.

All your petty jealousies from the day before come rushing back, and a cutting comment is on the very tip of your tongue when you realize that  _ Tavros fucking Nitram _ is giving you a once-over. And he's not even being  _ subtle _ about it.

Your tone drops acidic, without any prior consent of yours. "See something you like?"

"Definitely," Nitram says, and his voice runs down your spine the way you imagine molten chocolate would.

"Wh—" But before you can actually further contemplate Nitram's potential interest, or your brain's frankly fucking ludicrous choice of imagery, Eridan's door opens, and you are  _ thoroughly _ distracted once again.

 

Fall garb, apparently, carries certain connotations and other expectations. Objectively, you knew this, but it’s one thing to know that, objectively, Eridan’s going to walk out of that room arrayed in the realm's finest, but to see him walk out of his room in a tunic that looks like it's been stitched together from the brightest autumnal leaves and nothing else leaves you a little staggered.

He gives you a shy sort of grin and reaches up to adjust his crown—it looks like bracken in gilding and bronze—and you manage to rearrange your brain into something approaching sense. "Not bad," you say, and judging by the way the grin broadens, he's very amused at your reaction.

You’re not sure  _ why _ , but you’ve learned not to question the prince.

 

Nitram, when you turn to look at him, is similarly awed, but he shakes it off under your glare and steps up to offer a bow to Eridan. You give him an approving nod, and take up Eridan's right side, as Nitram smoothly settles on the left, and together, the three of you start towards the festival.

"You know," Eridan says—and your attention immediately snaps to him—looking out across the crowd as he slowly descends the staircase. "Da wasn't all that put out when I told him I was bringing  _ two _ dates to the Festival."

You think you're about to have a stroke. "What? Two dates? Am—Your Highness, with all due respect, why was I not warned of this in advance, we need to vet them—"

"Kar?" Eridan cuts you off, and you blink—on his other side, Tavros is struggling not to laugh—as your prince gives you a fondly exasperated look. "Shut up an' help escort me already, will you?"

 

You pause. You blink. You notice the fact that Tavros and Eridan are holding hands, that Eridan's offering his own hand to you. And finally,  _ finally _ , you let yourself relax enough to take it.


End file.
